


Why not us?

by obsessivewriter



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Best Friends, Childhood Friends, F/M, First Kiss, First Time, Friends to Lovers, Meddling Families, first I love yous, lots of banter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-12
Updated: 2019-12-12
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:14:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21763558
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/obsessivewriter/pseuds/obsessivewriter
Summary: Gift for my good friend TK (@katlyn1948) based on her prompt:“We should just hook up. Everyone already thinks we’re together.”
Relationships: Arya Stark/Gendry Waters
Comments: 70
Kudos: 356
Collections: Gendrya Gift Exchange 2019





	Why not us?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Katlyn1948](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katlyn1948/gifts).



> TK! I was so excited to know I got you on the Gendrya Fic Exchange. You've always been so supportive of my writing, and I love your fics as well. I hope you like this little fic I wrote for you.

**Arya, 13 & Gendry, 15**

_"I have a son, you have a daughter. We should join our families."_

Arya heard Uncle Robert said that to her father when she was eavesdropping on them, crouched behind a sofa in her father's study, as they drank scotch one evening. He wasn't her real uncle, just her father's best friend, who also happened to be her godfather, but the brotherly love between both men meant that the Stark and Baratheon children had grown up together, closer to each other than to their own blood relatives.

"Don't be ridiculous, Robert, they are all still children," said her father laughing, the way he always did at every one of his best friend's outlandish ideas.

"Well, I'm not implying we should become grandfathers at our prime, but mark my words, Ned, you and I will be _Papa_ and _Grampy_ to the same kids." 

He hadn't mentioned anyone in particular. Still, Arya felt there was no question who her godfather saw fulfilling that prophecy, despite the many possible Stark-Baratheon unions between both men's kids, plus the nephew Ned was raising as his own. 

Robert had four grown children from four different women: Mya, Gendry, Bella, and Edric. He had been wild in his younger years, refusing to settle down, but the good influence of Ned Stark assured that he would at least assume his responsibility whenever his indiscretions had consequences. Mya, Bella, and Edric divided their time between their mothers' homes and Robert's, while Gendry had gone to live permanently with his father when he was six after his mum passed away. Robert had finally settled down and married Mina Ashford, who gave birth to Robert's youngest: Eddard, the baby boy who he had named after his best friend.

It wouldn't be until a few years later when Arya knew for sure who her uncle Robert was referring to, but she suspected, right then at thirteen, that in his mind, Gendry and Arya were meant for each other. It would also be later when she would learn why: Robert still considered her late Aunt Lyanna the one who got away, and he saw in Arya and his own son, the way to set history to rights in his mind. 

Arya Stark and Gendry Baratheon had been inseparable pretty much since the moment they met when they were 5 and 7. Arya had been skipped a year at school, and Gendry, with his mother's passing and the move from King's Landing to Winterfell, had lost a school year, which meant they were on the same grade. Very soon, Gendry was defending Arya from bullies who made fun of her size and her looks, and Arya was protecting Gendry from those who called him dumb and low-class. 

The first time Gendry remembered anyone implying that he and Arya were an item happened that same year when he discovered that girls were suddenly very interested in him. Long gone where the times when Northern girls mocked his accent and his Southern ways, coincidentally it being the year he had grown broader and his muscles more defined, from training with Edric in the gym. Girls suddenly started dropping their pens in his proximity, and he had plenty of offers for working together in school projects, but he had always declined, saying Arya was his partner in all. One of the boldest girls, a green-eyed blond, had responded in sing-song _'there are other things you and I could do together, and that girlfriend of yours doesn't even have to know about it.'_

He hadn't even bothered to reply. He never considered her offer, not then and not later, but the talk about him and Arya, that was just starting.

**Arya, 14 & Gendry, 16**

Then it had been Rickon.

Arya and Gendry were sitting by the heart tree in Winterfell when little shit Rickon Stark, at the obnoxious age of eight had started chanting:

_'Gendry and Arya,_

_Sitting in a tree,_

_K-I-S-S-I-N-G._

_First comes love, then comes marriage,_

_Then comes Arya with a baby carriage.'_

Gendry had to pull Arya off her little brother, who ran to his mother crying, caked in mud. Catelyn had grounded Arya, but Rickon never sang that song again.

To her face.

Gendry was not sure if that had any influence in what was to come, but not long after, Catelyn Tully-Stark had sat him down and given him the most awkward sex talk of his life. Aunt Cat, as she kept reminding him to call her, had used a detailed metaphor of Arya as a beautiful flower that she warned him he shouldn't try to pluck before it was ready. 

It took him a couple of years to be able to look at her in the eye after that.

**Arya, 15 & Gendry, 17**

When Arya was fifteen, her mum came into her room one evening, holding two mugs of tea, and she made Arya put down her book. 

"Remember dear," she had started saying, after a few false starts, "that If Gendry cares for you, _really_ cares for you, and respects you, he won't pressure you."

"To do what?" Arya asked, knitting her brows in confusion.

"Well, boys get ideas sometimes, and they can find their way to convince you to… participate. Even if you are not ready."

"Please, I'm the one with the ideas," she replied with a proud shrug, "Gendry is a follower."

"Arya!" Catelyn had exclaimed, spilling a bit of her tea on her skirt.

"What? What's so wrong about being the one who decides what movie we should watch or what concert to attend?"

Arya's question calmed her mother down, and she internally berated herself for assuming the worst. Of course, she knew there was enough wild running through her daughter's veins from both sides of the family. 

"I didn't mean it like that Arya," Cat said, setting down her mug on the bedside table, and taking a tissue from where she always carried them under her sleeve, to dab the spilled tea, "I was talking about S-E-X."

"First of all," Arya said, rolling her eyes, "why are you spelling it? And second, why on the gods' green earth would you talk about sex and Gendry?!"

"Don't mention the gods Arya, don't be blasphemous. Anyway, I'm going to tell you something, you are old enough to know now, but do not mention this to anyone, not even Gendry," her mother closed her eyes and took a deep breath, "my sister Lysa got in trouble when she was about your age."

"Trouble as in _'up the duff'_ out of wedlock? Who would have thought? Aunt Lysa looks like she's always constipated."

"Don't be crass, Arya. And do not use that expression, I've never liked it. But yes, she got pregnant. She miscarried, the poor thing, but it broke our father's heart."

"Why are you telling me this and not Sansa?" She inquired as she left her mug on the side table.

"I did when she was your age, though right now, Sansa is not dating anyone."

"Neither am I!" She yelled.

"What about Gendry?" Her mother asked, after a deep sigh, and a look of annoyance.

"Gendry is only my best friend, mum. Gods!"

Arya gave up and lay down on her bed, wondering if her eyes might have gone all the way back until they were back in their proper place, just out of the level of frustration she felt.

"Don't roll your eyes at me! I don't know what you kids like to call it now, but don't believe for a second that I do not know that he sneaks into your room at night, young lady!"

"To play video games!" Arya shrieked.

"Fine. Just remember. I'm not blind, Arya. And I'm not as old-fashioned as you think I am, the gods know your father and I-"

"Do not finish that sentence!" Arya was quick to cut her off, taking a pillow and shoving it on her own face.

"Just promise me you will always be safe."

"I will if you promise never to bring this up again," she mumbled from under the pillow.

Gendry's talk with his father had gone in a completely opposite direction. When he turned seventeen, Robert offered to take him to a high-class brothel, and when he adamantly refused, he told him that he had to learn, and it might as well be it with a professional, who could actually teach him a thing or two. He then added, for good measure, that one day, Arya would thank him for that. 

Gendry felt sick to his stomach, reminding his father that Arya was only fifteen, to which his father knocked him on the back of his head and said: _'I didn't mean that you should be bedding her right now, and I better not hear you have been disrespecting Ned's girl before she's ready.'_

He was pretty sure Robert did not share that conversation with his best friend because one night, Ned sat down with him and listened to Gendry talk about how much he liked metalwork. Arya's dad had asked questions, and he hadn't dismissed him when Gendry mentioned that maybe he'd like to pursue it professionally, as Robert had in the past. In the end, Ned told him _'what a good lad he was,'_ and that he could see how much he cared for his daughter and that he was pleased they were together.

His words had stunned him and didn't know how to tell him that they really weren't. Instead, he simply nodded, as Ned patted his back. 

**Arya, 16 & Gendry, 18**

If Gendry thought that his sex talk with Cat Tully-Stark had been the most awkward and cringe-worthy social interaction of his life, it was soon bumped down when his older sister Mya and his younger sister Bella sat him down to tell him how to please a woman. Bella had attempted to teach him about female erogenous zones, while Mya had told him that he should be confident and say the right things in bed. It would have been fine if all the weirdness had stopped there, but then both his sisters had asked him how far he had gone with Arya. 

It was getting more and more difficult for him to look at his best friend and not notice the beautiful young woman she was becoming. The physical touch that used to be frequent and unimportant between them was charged, and the spark it caused ignited a trail of gun powder on his skin. Silly things like the collar of her oversized top falling off her shoulder, revealing a black strap, would make him lose his speech, prompting an oblivious Arya to call him, once more, stupid. 

He _did_ feel stupid.

One afternoon, when Ned and Catelyn were out of town, the Stark kids had thrown a party and invited all their friends. The moment he arrived, Gendry started looking for Arya to no avail. He finally found her in the library of the Starks' home, sitting on the floor, wearing large headphones, listening with eyes closed.

"What's bothering you?" He asked after sitting next to her, pulling the headphones off and nudging her shoulder. 

"Why must something be bothering me?" She asked curtly. 

"I know you, so cut the crap."

Arya remained silent for a few minutes until she realized he wouldn't let it go.

"Jeyne," she finally conceded.

"What did she do this time?"

He knew what Sansa's friend liked to say about Arya both in front of her and behind her back, and it filled him with rage without fail. Arya would always have a great comeback, but he was the one who got to see what others didn't: the quiet moments like this when she'd seethe in rage and self-doubt because of Jeyne _fucking_ Poole.

"She says that I am so ugly no one will ever want to kiss me," she said lower than Arya's regular voice.

He pondered for a moment on the number of things he could say, and that as a matter of fact, he had already said many times. He was tired of trying to convince Arya that nothing that came out of Jeyne's mouth had any merit, but he knew it would not make a difference. Arya would eventually come to that realization by herself. Still, the damage would be done, she would suffer needlessly while the stupid girl was downstairs enjoying herself like she belonged more with the Starks than Arya did.

And so Gendry didn't say a thing.

He did something instead.

His hand went to Arya's face, and he gently turned her towards where his lips were awaiting hers. Before she had time to think, Gendry's mouth was on her, and she instinctively closed her eyes. They stayed still, both of them just a bit stunned, and then Gendry started to move his lips tentatively, while Arya tilted her head a bit, easing his exploration. The kiss couldn't have lasted more than a minute, but when they parted, Arya couldn't have said how long it really was.

"There, Jeyne Poole is a liar," Gendry announced, with the same defiant tone he would use when he won a challenge, which felt like a kick to the stomach to Arya.

"Why would you do that?!" She exclaimed, standing up.

"Just proving that she's a lying bitch!" He replied, getting up as well.

"That was my first kiss!"

"Well, mine as well!"

Arya didn't realize she had missed something crucial when she assumed that Gendry had only kissed her to prove that Jeyne was wrong and that someone would kiss Arya eventually. Gendry's focus had been not on the kiss itself but on what Jeyne had mentioned: that no one would ever _want_ to kiss her.

He had proved her wrong way before their lips had touched.

The three days it took her to talk to him again had been excruciating. Gendry had gone from rage to confusion to regret. He feared that their friendship had ended because of a kiss that at the moment felt like something he had done for her, but in hindsight, seemed utterly selfish. 

He couldn't know that Arya had wallowed in her own confusion during those three days as well.

"What are you doing, stupid?" 

Gendry heard her voice while he was working under the old car he had been fixing up for the past year in the garage of the Baratheon home. He wheeled himself out to find her perched on the worktable like she always did. 

Like nothing had happened.

He stood up and took a rag to clean the oil from his hands while he eyed her warily. 

"Same old, and you?" He asked, trying to look nonchalant, as he leaned back on the car.

"Bored to death without my best friend," she replied, making sure not to break eye contact, convincing him that what she said was true.

He smirked at her words, feeling relief spreading in his bloodstream.

"I'm sorry," he said, looking down. 

Arya wondered if the apology was for not being there those three days, or for kissing her, but it hurt all the same because it tasted of regret. If she had wondered during their time apart if Gendry would want to kiss her again, that hope had died.

"You did me a favor, anyway," she replied, shrugging, "first kisses are supposed to be awkward, and now that is out of the way."

Gendry's hands tensed around the rag he was still holding. _'Idiot,'_ a voice inside mocked him. The only thing his kiss had accomplished was paving the way for her lips to seek others she truly craved. 

**Arya, 17 & Gendry, 19**

Edric was younger than Gendry by two years. Still, despite that, his personality, closer to their father's, made him far more experienced both in social situations, as well as intimate ones. Edric Baratheon had already broken countless hearts, and he was not shy when pursuing a new girl who tickled his fancy. The latest girl to catch his attention was less outgoing than his usual type, and wouldn't go out with him unless her best friend came along. For that reason, Edric had tried to set Gendry up with the friend in question, hoping his brother would act as a wingman.

"You got to come with me Gen, her friend is gorgeous," his brother said, lying down on Gendry's bed.

"Not interested. And besides, I have plans with Arya," Gendry replied, without taking his eyes from the work he was doing on his computer. 

"She's got you whipped," his brother mocked. 

"She's my best friend," Gendry responded, feeling like he was turning into a cartoon with the same catchphrase.

"Really? What plans do you have with her that are more important than going out with this girl, who I am pretty sure is a sure thing, by the way."

"We're just going to stay in and play video games."

"Video games, my arse!" Edric yelled, sitting up, "she must have some magic pussy."

That got Gendry's attention. 

"Don't talk about her like that! I told you already, Arya is not my girlfriend, she's my best friend," Gendry warned him, turning in his swivel chair to make sure his brother knew he was serious.

Edric was sure his brother could kick his ass, but he also knew Gendry wouldn't go unscathed if they fought. Both brothers looked at each other in the eye for a long, tense moment, until Edric tilted his head and raising his eyebrow, he said:

"So, you've never rub one off thinking of her then?"

Gendry meant to say something, but he tripped with his words, and it made his brother howl with laughter. He could say no, say that Arya was just his best friend again, but the damage was done. 

"Get the hell out of my room," he said icily.

Edric just shrugged and stood up.

"Your loss," he said as he was leaving.

**Arya, 18 & Gendry, 20**

"What are you looking at, Greyjoy?" Gendry asked once he got fed up by Theon's insistent attention on him while on a skiing trip up north from Winterfell. 

Since the older Stark and Baratheon kids were in their late teens, this time, they had brought along a few friends, which included Theon Greyjoy. 

Gendry did not enjoy skiing. He was a Southron through and through, after all, but then again, his siblings all enjoyed the sport just as much as the Starks did. He had no problem staying in the lodge, reading or playing on his Nintendo switch until Arya was done. 

That day, unfortunately, Theon had sprained his ankle and he had to stay in the lodge, making Gendry uncomfortable. 

"I'm trying to figure out what's your deal," he replied.

"What deal?"

"You and little Stark," Theon clarified.

"Arya?"

"No, Rickon," he deadpanned, and just immediately rolled his eyes, "Yes, Arya, of course."

"What are you trying to figure out?" Gendry asked, putting down his device.

"It's her, right?" He asked, leaning forward in his seat.

"What's her?"

"Who wears the trousers, cracks the whip, rides the bull, sort of speak," he said, waggling his eyebrows.

"Not you too!" Gendry yelled, letting his head fall back to the large armchair where he was sitting.

"Come on, Baratheon, you can tell me. Is she bossy in bed as well? Or is she one of those who loves to be dominant everywhere but in the sheets."

"Shut your fucking mouth, Theon," Gendry warned him, leaning forward, noticing that some posh old ladies around them were throwing them dirty looks, "do not speak about Arya that way, or I'll shut it for you."

Gendry then stood up and walked towards the empty bar.

"So chivalrous, defending your girlfriend," Theon commented, following him and sitting down on the stool next to his.

"She's not my girlfriend. Arya and I are just friends."

"But you want her to be yours, don't you?" He asked with a wink.

"None of your business," Gendry replied as he signaled for a beer.

"You definitely want to know if she is bossy or not in bed."

"I'm warning you."

"Or maybe she'd like you to fuck her doggy-style, you know how Starks like to think of themselves as wolves or some shit."

That made him turn to face Greyjoy, and it was not lost on him that the man winced when he did. The gesture made him smug.

"You're supposed to be Robb's best friend, wait until he hears you speaking about his sister like that," he stated as he turned back to the pint that had just been placed in front of him.

"Yeah? What do you think he'd say if he knew you think of mounting his little sister from behind?" Theon countered, and the tension on Gendry's jaw made him smile, feeling quite pleased with himself.

"I don't." 

"But you will now, won't you?" Theon added with a wink, knowing full well that he had just sowed a seed in his mind.

**Arya, 19 & Gendry, 21**

Arya liked university. It had been liberating, moving out of her family home and being on her own, instead of always being surrounded by her siblings. It wasn't like there hadn't been an adjustment period, but then, when starting her third year in uni, she felt like she was finally in control of her life, entirely comfortable with herself. Even her relationship with her sister had improved, once Sansa had realized the snake she had for a best friend, and dropped Jeyne Poole from her life. Sansa had invited Arya for brunch to the apartment she shared with her boyfriend, Harry, who just happened to be out of town for a rowing competition.

"What kind of condoms does Gendry prefer?" Sansa had suddenly asked, after setting her coffee cup down and dabbing the foam on her upper lip.

Arya had not been ready for the question, and she had unfortunately started sipping her own cappuccino. The question made the coffee go the wrong way, and she ended up spluttering all over her sister's pristine white tablecloth. 

"Why would you ask me that?!" Arya asked once she was able to breathe again, wiping her mouth with the cloth napkin.

Sansa looked at the linens, and for a fleeting moment, she mentally debated if she should use vinegar or bleach to clean the stains, but then she let it go since she cared more about the topic she wanted to address with her sister.

"Well, you see, Harry likes ultra-thins, but I prefer ribbed for her pleasure, and I was wondering what you guys use."

"We don't!"

Her sister's reply surprised her; she didn't think she'd be careless enough to risk an unplanned pregnancy.

"You better be on the pill then, though you cannot be too careful. I do both, I really don't want to end up like aunt Lysa," Sansa commented, taking a scone from the plate in the middle, and she dunked it in her coffee. 

"I am on the pill," Arya explained, with the same tone of voice she always used when she was annoyed with her siblings, "to regulate my periods since I was sixteen, but I do not have sex with Gendry!"

"Why?" Sansa asked in confusion.

"Because we're only friends. Best friends," Arya replied, crossing her arms over her chest. 

"Swear to me you've never wondered about it," her sister challenged her, raising one perfectly groomed eyebrow.

Arya stayed silent.

"Thought so."

**Arya, 20 & Gendry, 22**

**Present**

The last drop had come when the Starks had been invited to the Baratheon summer home in Volantis. Gendry had been relegated to the pool house to have enough room for both large families in the main house. He didn't mind, he liked having space all for himself, despite the spotty WIFI and the fact that he had to clean the place on his own since the maids were too busy with so many people staying over. He really did not understand why his siblings acted like he had drawn the short straw.

The teasing and innuendos had continued as usual: if Arya happened to serve a plate of food for Gendry, she'd be teased about taking care of _'her man.'_ If Gendry hesitated whenever the young men asked him if he wanted to come along to the bars, they would ask him, _'what? Need to check in with the missus?'_

And then, there was Bran. He seldom said anything, but his knowing stares unnerved Gendry.

The parents weren't any better. Arya happened to be quite the skilled cook, and the night she prepared Braavosi for the whole lot, there were many praises to her skill with exotic cuisines, but then Mina Baratheon, who came from quite an old-fashion upbringing, had made a comment that had Arya clutching her knife tensely.

"Someone is ready for marriage!" Mina had singsonged, looking at both Arya and Gendry, and winking.

Gendry had set his own hand on top of hers and massaged the tension away from the knife with his thumb. If he was honest, he didn't have strong feelings for his stepmother; he didn't detest her, but he didn't feel much more than gratitude for never making a distinction between her children and Robert's other offspring. Yet, he'd rather his best friend not go to jail for attempting bodily harm on his father's wife, despite how stupid the remark was.

“Oh, Mina, times have changed a lot," Cat chimed in, "but I’m any case, Gendry knows his way around the kitchen as well. I’m sure the kids will divide the chores equally in their own household.”

Arya was about to say something to her mother that she was sure she’d regret later, but then Gendry had caught his brother Edric saying under his breath, _‘Arya is probably pleased that’s not the only thing Gendry knows his way around.'_

“Shut the fuck off, Edric!” Gendry roared, distracting Arya from what she was about to say.

“Gendry! Language!” His stepmother admonished him.

Meanwhile, the youngest Starks and Baratheons snickered at Gendry’s outburst, as Robert was having a fit of belly laughs himself.

The next morning Arya had come to breakfast to find the two sets of parents already there. Ned read the paper while Robert was immersed in whatever it was he was doing with his smartphone. 

"Good morning, Arya love," her mother greeted her, with a kiss to her temple, on her way to place a coffee mug on the table in front of her husband.

"Morning," she said, "could I get some coffee too, please?"

"I'll pour it for you," Jon said since he had been pouring himself a cup.

"Morning, dad, Uncle Robert, Mina," she greeted the adults, after taking the mug from Jon.

"Good morning, sweetheart," his dad said, putting down his newspaper as Arya hugged him from behind.

Mya came from outside, by her attire and her flushed and sweaty look it was clear that she had just finished a morning run. She greeted everyone already in the kitchen, and then Sansa was coming in, looking flawless with her makeup already in place. 

Mina was giving a glass of orange juice to a sleepy Eddard, who was wiping the sleep from his eyes and asking how long until breakfast was served. 

"Breakfast is almost ready, honey. Now, if only your siblings would get out of bed and get downstairs to join us."

"I'll get Bella and Edric, Mina," Mya offered.

"I'll go wake the rest of mine," Cat added.

"I can do that, Aunt Cat," Jon offered. 

"Thanks, love."

"Someone needs to wake Gendry," Mina suggested. 

"Arya, go get your man so we can eat, I'm starving," her sister asked her snatching the coffee mug from her hands, while Arya frowned at her. 

It was barely eight am, and she was already feeling fed up with their families' insistence on their relationship. She decided to go wake Gendry up, at least that would get her out of there, but as she headed towards the archway that led to the family room, she had to go by the spot where Robert was sitting. 

"Arya, sweetheart, maybe wake sleeping beauty with a kiss, I bet that would get him in a good mood instead of his regular grumpy-bear self," he said placing his hand on her elbow.

"Uncle Robert, Gendry is not my boyfriend," Arya said, trying to be as civil as she could muster that early in the day.

"Whatever it is you want to call him is fine with me sweetheart, just make sure to give me lovely grandbabies."

If his words were not enough, what managed to royally piss her off was that Robert fleetingly patted her abdomen, just in case his point was not clear enough.

"Robert, don't tease Arya."

Good, she knew her father would tell her uncle off.

"Arya and Gendry are still young, they'll settle down when they're ready."

Well, her father had clearly not seen his best friend's gesture.

"They just make such a lovely couple," Gendry's stepmother added. 

"Arya, dear, just go get Gendry," her mother asked.

Oh, she would be getting him alright.

She walked with the determination of someone going to war towards the poolhouse, finding Gendry already walking towards the main house. 

"Hey, I was on my way over," he said, sensing that Arya had been sent to fetch him, "you didn't have to come to get me."

But instead of replying, Arya grabbed him by the wrist and marched them both inside. Once inside, she let go of him and paced around the room. 

"What pissed you off?" He asked, noticing the deep frown on her face.

"Take your trousers off," Arya ordered.

"Are these not suitable?" He asked, looking down at his skinny jeans.

Arya had to take a deep breath and close her eyes until she was able to count to twenty. 

"I didn't mean that."

"What did you mean then?"

"Take your bloody trousers off, in fact, take all your clothes off. We're having sex."

That got his attention.

"Excuse me? Did I sleep through something?" 

Arya groaned and sat down at the foot of the bed, with her head resting on her hands. 

She then lifted her head and addressed him, "doesn't it bother you?"

"What?" 

As he spoke, his eyebrows drawn together. 

"What they say about us."

"What do they say about us?" He asked, sitting next to her. 

"Don't play stupid, you know what I'm talking about."

"According to you, I don't play stupid, I just am."

"You know I don't really think that. It's a term of endearment, really," Arya explained with a dismissive shrug.

"Lucky me."

"Be serious, please."

Gendry felt as if walking on a minefield, but ignoring the issue was not going to help anyone. After taking a deep breath, he spoke.

"Fine. Does it bother you that much? That they think you're my girlfriend? Am I that embarrassing?"

The sting in his words was evident, and it nipped at Arya, all her previous rage dissolved, leaving only a mix of dread and longing. 

"It's not that."

"Then what?"

"Why is everyone so preoccupied about our relationship."

"We have a relationship?"

The question was charged, and it left the taste of regret on her mouth. The same taste that one gets when something cherished and secret is exposed. 

"Friendship. You know what I mean."

"Fine. What about it?" He asked, raising his eyebrows.

"It doesn't bother you? That our siblings just assume we're together, and our parents seem to have a whole life planned for us?"

Gendry had been looking at Arya, and his mouth pulled into something resembling a smile, but it looked sad, and he turned forward, away from her eyes, looking for something that wasn't there. 

"I know you well enough to know no one will ever make you do something you don't want," he said as Arya looked at his shrugging shoulder and the side of his face, "what does it matter if my father dreams about us joining our families? Or that your mother gave me a lecture when I was sixteen about, and I'm quoting her _'not taking your flower before you were ready.'_ Or if Jon and Robb keep telling me not to dishonor you?"

After that, he turned towards her to see her reaction. 

"Dishonor me? What century do they live in? What did you tell them?" 

"That my best friend is more than capable of breaking my legs if I ever do anything that even comes near betraying our friendship, and they should feel ashamed of ever doubting you."

"I care about you too, Gen," Arya said quietly, placing her hand on his knee. 

"Yeah? It's good to know. Why are you so worked up? What does the circus I call a family say to you just now?"

"Well, you know, Uncle Robert just keeps calling me Arya Baratheon, and he just asked me to give him beautiful grandchildren."

"Like you would take anyone's name," Gendry said with a broad smile.

"Mya calls me her good sister. Bella is a bit too touchy-feely, to be honest, I could live with more personal space in between us, but she keeps asking how good you are pleasing a woman. Edric tells me from time to time that… you know what? Never mind."

"Come on, tell me. How bad can it be? I've told you about your family. Can't be that much more embarrassing than that," Gendry asked, nudging her shoulder.

"He tells me that they can't deal with your grumpiness," Arya explained, scrunching her nose. 

"What's bad about that? Edric and my sisters tell me that all the time."

Arya had felt self-conscious about repeating what Edric usually said to get a rise out of her, but she had never been able to resist being challenged by Gendry, and so, the words came out a lot easier than she feared before. 

"Yeah? Do they also tell you that I should be fucking you more often to improve your foul mood?"

"I'm going to kill him," he said, determined to march into the main house and punch his brother on the nose.

"I know something better we could do," Arya said, stopping him from standing up, and instead, climbing on his lap.

"Have sex? That is your plan? I bet that will really teach them," he said sarcastically, "what is that? Reverse-reverse psychology?"

"You're making fun of me?"

"I'm sorry, I just don't follow how them thinking that we're together bothers you so much, but then your big revenge plan is that we do get together."

"Well, I've been lectured for years about our sex life, I might as well be having it."

There was a tiny voice in the back of Gendry's mind that was berating him for picking a fight when such an offer was made. Still, the rest was greedy, he wanted Arya to come to him because she wanted him, not because she was fed up and in the mood to do something irreversible. 

"Oh, great! I feel so special now. And by the way, this is the stupid-"

He didn't get to say anything else because Arya had grabbed a handful of his shirt and pulled him to her eager mouth. Arya's lips felt and tasted like they did in his memories, but these lips did not stay still like she had so many years before. No, these lips didn't have any time to waste. Arya's mouth was demanding, and it claimed him as hers as one would claim a newly discovered land, but it was moot, Gendry thought since he was already hers. He understood that right then, as he kissed her back.

"Do you have any condoms?" She groaned against his mouth.

"Ah… Yeah…," he replied, as he started kissing down her jaw, "Edric gave me a box, said one day I'd thank him for them."

Arya pulled just enough to look at him, eyes dark and under her spell. She felt herself smile smugly, and she commanded him then:

"Good, go get them."

"Arya, wait," he said, not letting her move away from his lap.

"What?" She asked, steadying herself on his shoulders.

"We don't need condoms."

It was rare for Arya to be at a loss for words, but there she was, mouth slightly parted and eyes wide. 

"Excuse me? I thought you were dead set on not repeating your father's mistakes,"

"No, I didn't mean that. Fuck!" Gendry grimaced as he realized what Arya must have thought, "yes, we'll need them, in due time, maybe?"

"What are you trying to say?"

He took a deep breath and spoke, "I'm not having sex with you now."

"You don't want me?" She asked, and in her voice, he detected that lonely wild animal in her that spooked easily, getting ready to flee. 

"That's not what I said, at all," he explained, pulling her towards him until his forehead rested on hers. 

"Then, what are you saying?" She whispered.

"That if I'm going to do this with you," he replied, pulling slightly apart, so she could see in his eyes how deadly serious he was, "I'm going to do it right."

"What should we do now, then?"

"Now, I'd like to kiss you more on this bed before they send someone to get us."

_________________________________________

She was convinced that Gendry was enjoying making her squirm. Their make-out sessions were hot and heavy, and she could tell they affected him as much as her, but he'd always stop them before it could become more. The days and nights in Volantis offering many a chance to explore whatever that was in between them. 

They hadn't talked about what that was, or what their plan was, they'd just find themselves stealing kisses and caresses whenever they were alone, thrilled with the adrenaline of doing it without their families knowing despite them being so close by.

They made it three days before they needed those condoms Edric had left in Gendry's bedside table. 

One would be inclined to think that a friendship as old as theirs, with their trust and silent conversations, could make for a mind-blowing first coupling. 

One would be royally mistaken. 

Their difference in sizes proved challenging, as well as the fact that both of them were stubborn and had a tendency to become competitive. 

"You like that?" Gendry asked, trying to keep his weight off of her, their coupling making it difficult for him to kiss her on the lips and keep touching her at the same time.

"Almost, there twist your hand like this," she replied, guiding his hand with hers, trying to get the angle right.

"Wait! Arya! No! My hand does not bend that way," he complained, pulling it away and trying to readjust, only accomplishing to frustrate her more.

"Dude! You're too big!"

"All my life, I dreamed of hearing those words during sex, surprisingly not as arousing as I imagined."

"I'm not talking about your cock!" She bellowed.

"I'm well-aware!" He yelled back, lifting her leg to disengage and pull away.

"Wait! that felt nice, keep that up."

"Like this?" He asked, crossing the leg he was holding over him, and turning her on her side.

"Yes! No, wait, too much!"

"I'm sorry," he said as the hand that had come back to her core stilled.

"What are you doing? Don't stop!"

"You said it was too much!" He groaned in frustration.

"I meant the penetration! Not the clit action."

"What do you want me to do?"

"Keep going! Do not stop."

"Wait, Arya. Maybe it is better if you do this," he suggested pulling out of her and lying on his back.

"What? Like, on my own?"

"No, not at all. Just, you take me in, at your own pace," Gendry said, guiding her to straddle him.

"Like this?" She asked as she lowered herself, taking him slowly. 

"There… Yes. Can I touch you?"

"Please," was her reply, and he didn't wait to run one hand from her waist up until it was cupping a breast, while the other one resumed its endeavor on her clit, the new position making it easier for his thumb to bring back the promise of her release. 

"You feel so good," he grunted, and the low tone of his voice and the pad of his finger on her made her body hum. 

"Help me with the pace?"

"Like this?" Gendry asked, sliding his hand down from her breast to her hip, helping her set their rhythm. Arya only bit her bottom lip and nodded. 

It didn't take long after that, and she came first, slumping on top of him, the look of her face, with her flushed cheeks, her lidded eyes, and her parted lips pushing him over to follow her bliss. 

Once recovered, they parted and lay back side by side. Gendry sat up briefly to dispose of the condom, tying it and throwing it in the wastebasket by his bed. When he lay back down, they looked at each other with concern on their faces. 

"That was…," Arya started to say.

"Yes."

"Do you think-"

"No!" He quickly cut her off, sensing where her train of thought was taking her. 

"You don't even know what I was going to say."

"That it was a mistake?"

"Okay, you did know," she admitted looking up towards the ceiling.

Alarm bells sounded in his head, and with his hand on her chin, he guided it back towards him, so he could look into her eyes. If this thing in between them was heading towards heartache, he wanted her eyes on his. 

"Do you?" He asked, pretending he was braver than he really was.

"Not at all," She replied, without a moment's hesitation.

"But, you thought this was going to be different."

"Yes. You?"

"For sure," he responded with a slight snort, "it wasn't like it was bad."

"No, not at all. It's just…"

"That it felt like a lot of work?" Gendry offered.

"Yeah. I feel like we ought to be better at this."

"There is only one thing we can do."

"What's that?" Arya inquired.

"We keep doing it until we become good at it."

"With each other?"

Her question ignited an entirely different type of fire in his chest. He turned towards her and propped himself up with his elbow.

"Do you want to try with someone else?"

It warmed her heart to see the tension on his eyebrow and on his jaw.

"No," she replied, venturing a hand to massage his strong jaw until it relaxed, "and you better not be thinking that," she warned him, using that same hand to bring him towards her, so close he could feel the warmth of her words on his lips. 

"Not at all," he replied, smiling, before sealing the promise with a kiss. 

_________________________________________

It turned out that practice made perfect, and all in all, their relationship didn't really change. They still played video games, though, the dress code relaxed significantly.

"I have to say, I like gaming much better lately," Gendry said, resting his chin on her shoulder, and holding the controller with his arms around her. 

"Yeah? Dunno why," Arya added, resting her naked back on his firm chest behind her, "you are a lot shittier at it."

"Whatever, I have a beautiful and very naked woman on my lap while we're playing video games. Life is good."

Towards the end of their Volantis vacation, the teasing had continued, but it didn't bother them quite as much as it used to. They had, however, maintained the new developments in their relationships still to themselves. 

They had been watching a film in the projection room on their own, with Arya's head resting on Gendry's chest, and their hands intertwined when the sound of someone opening the door made Arya pull away abruptly, and sit back on the opposite end of the sofa. 

"Hey guys," Robb greeted them, looking around the room, "have you seen Jon?"

"Not since breakfast," Arya answered. 

"Thought he was going out with Ned to help with some errands," added Gendry. 

"Thanks, mate," Robb said before leaving. 

Once Arya was convinced he had gone, she took her place back, snuggling against Gendry, who was no longer watching the film, but instead looking intently at her.

"Why are we hiding?" 

Arya looked up to him and replied, "we're not hiding."

"You just propelled yourself to the other end of this sofa, and you always let go of my hand the moment someone comes into the room. Are you ashamed of us?"

"No, I'm not," she replied with a frown.

"Then?"

Arya took a moment to think before she replied. 

"It's none of their business," she said, looking down.

"They've thought we've been together for ages."

"And we weren't," she pointed out. 

"But we are, now."

Arya just stared at him.

"We are, aren't we?" He then asked with trepidation. 

Arya sat on his lap, turning her back to the screen, so they could talk face to face. 

"We are."

"Then, what does it matter if they know we're together?"

"What? You want to air out our intimacy?"

"Well, I rather not have your dad catch me with my hand in your knickers, but I don't see a problem with our families seeing us holding hands or kissing," he explained as his fingers played with her hair. 

"It's just…" She started saying, fidgeting with one of the buttons of his shirt. 

"Just what?" He pressed again, the tone in his voice making her explode. 

"They win!"

"What?!" He had to take a breath to release the mounting pressure, and a feeling of defeat filled him, "you know, maybe we should reconsider this."

"Why?" Arya asked, taking her turn to be defensive. 

Gendry pulled the hand in her hair back and used it to rub the short stubble on his face as he shook his head. 

"Because there is a nagging thought at the back of my mind saying that this whole thing is just you trying to prove a point, or sticking it to our families, in some weird way. I keep thinking that maybe you don't want anyone to know about us because you really don't want to be with me."

"It's not that!" She said forcefully, taking his head in both of her hands, to make sure his eyes were set on hers. 

"Then, what is it?"

"I'm scared."

"What are you scared of?"

"Of us being together just because our families have been pushing us towards each other for years."

There was something endearing to him the way her eyes so open as if she had just revealed something ominous. 

"You never thought that perhaps we've been running towards each other from the beginning, and it's just them picking up on that?"

_________________________________________

When they finally stop hiding their relationship from their families, keeping their hands intertwined, it hadn't been the way they had thought it would be. In the end, it had been quite anticlimactic. If anything, the comments and the teasing seemed to have decreased when Gendry would greet Arya with a peck on the lips, as it was the most natural thing in the world. 

Because it was.

Or perhaps the mothers had started not so secretly planning a wedding but Arya and Gendry had stopped paying attention, far more interested in each other than in anything those around had to say about their relationship. 

In any case, once they had all had gone back home to Westeros, scattered around, the teasing had been relegated to family group chats, phone calls, or the errand get-together. 

There were things that remained unsaid in between them, though. Words that Arya could feel on the tip of her tongue whenever Gendry would do something silly, suddenly the word _'stupid.'_ wasn't the right word, and she felt like she should be saying something else, though she was not sure what it was.

Gendry knew the words that tickled in the back of his throat whenever Arya would drop the stoic mask she showed the world, and smile in that secret way of hers that was only for him. 

"I love you."

The need to say it had been overpowering and the words had come tumbling out of his mouth, like that long-needed breath, when he would break the surface of the water, after staying under until his lungs ached, simply because Arya had challenged him. _'I love you,'_ he had said right away again, nudging her nose with his own.

"Why would you say something like that while you're inside of me?" She had asked, and her grey eyes were not soft like his. Instead, they were filled with surprise and confusion, and what was worse, a bit of rage. 

"Why?" He asked, confused, "because that's what I feel, and saying it while I'm inside of you seems fucking appropriate to me."

"Everybody knows that mid and post-coital love declarations are not authentic," she explained, knitting those expressive eyebrows of hers. 

"Are you really going to argue with me right now?" He asked, shaking his head in disbelief, "because I said, _'I love you,'_ no less?"

Sensing the moment was ruined, he moved back, her body keenly aware of the place he no longer occupied. 

"Where are you going? Are you fucking kidding me?!" She exclaimed, sitting up, letting the sheet pool around her midsection, "you're just going to stop?" 

"You're the one picking a fight over my feelings!" He roared back, standing up.

"I was not picking a fight!"

He had started to pace the room, naked as his nameday, and feeling as trapped as a bull in a pen.

"It's not like I was expecting you to say it back," he added, shaking his head, "you could have just say thank you or let it go. But just because you don't love me back is no reason to-"

He couldn't stop his sentence, because Arya had stood up on the bed and launched herself onto him, not a doubt in her mind that he would catch her. Gendry's hands had instinctively held on to her backside, as her legs wrapped around him, and she kissed him passionately.

Once sated, she had spoken again, in between pants, "who says I don't love you?"

"If you love me, why on earth do you have a problem with me saying it to you? And when were you planning on letting me know?"

"When we were not having sex so you wouldn't think it was just the sex clouding my mind, stupid," she explained, as if what she was saying was the most logical concept. 

"Fine!" He groaned, "we're not having sex now, so I love you, there, I hope you're happy now."

Arya lifted her chin cockily, and embraced him tightly, arms and legs, bringing their bodies closer together.

"What? We're not fucking anymore?" She asked, raising one eyebrow.

Gendry was no longer looking at her eyes, and instead, he found himself mesmerized by her lips, "I so wish I could say no just to spite you."

"But you won't," Arya added, in that mocking tone of hers, the same she'd used every time she knew she had beaten him. 

"You're naked in my arms, and I just learned you love me back," he said before claiming her mouth, and pulling at her bottom lip with his teeth, "we're having sex. But I'm still annoyed at you."

"You can be grumpy after," she said in his ear. 

"Oh, I'll be grumpy tomorrow, but not tonight."

**Author's Note:**

> Special thanks to Alex (@starksdeservedbetter) for coming up with the title, and for helping me get Theon's crass line right.


End file.
